WEST  VIRGINIA 

PUPILS'  READING 
CIRCLE 


STATE  DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION 
Division  of  Rukal  Schools 
CHARLESTON 


A Child’s  First  Reader 


Dear  little  girl,  this  little  book 
Is  less  a primer  than  a key 
To  sunder  gates  where  wonder  waits 
Your  “open  sesame.” 

These  tiny  syllables  look  large:  j 

They’ll  fret  your  wide  bewildered  eyes 
But  “Is  the  cat  upon  the  mat?” 

A passport  to  the  skies? 

For,  yet  a while,  and  you  shall  turn, 
From  Mother  Goose  to  Avon’s  swan; 
From  Mary’s  lamb  to  grim  Khayyam; 
And  Mancha’s  mad- wise  Don. 

You’ll  writhe  at  Jean  Yaljean’s  disgrace 
And  D’Artagnan  and  Ivanhoe 
Shall  steal  your  sleep ; and  you  shall  weep 
At  Sidney  Carson’s  woe. 

Make  haste  to  wander  these  old  roads, 

0 envied  little  parvenue; 

For  all  things  trite  shall  leap  alight 
And  bloom  again  for  you. 

— Rupert  Hughes. 


VEST  VIRGINIA  PUPILS 
READING  CIRCLE 


Founded  Oct.  21,  1922 


A Course  in  Reading,  which  includes 
ome  of  the  best  books  for  West  Virginia 
oys  and  girls,  designated  for  the  Elemen- 
ary  Schools  of  the  State. 

Sponsors 

Thos.  C.  Miller,  Fairmont 

Honorary  President 
Waitman  Barbe,  Morgantown 
Myria  M.  Nefflen,  Keyser 
Ruth  Johnston  French,  Bluefield 
John  H.  Gorby,  New  Martinsville 
Forrest  Barnhart,  Ripley 
Orval  P.  Hill,  Harrisville 
H.  C.  McKinley,  Gary 
C.  L.  Heater,  Gassaway 

J.  D.  Muldoon,  Secretary 
Charleston 


t Book  a Day  Will  Keep  Gloom  Away 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


The  Purpose  of  the  West  Virginia  Pupils’ 
Reading  Circle 

First — To  select  groups  of  books  suitable 
in  content  and  language  for  the  sixth, 
seventh  and  eighth  grades  of  our  elemen- 
tary schools. 

Second — To  assist  in  arousing  an  inter- 
est in  the  reading  of  good  books  by  West 
Virginia  boys  and  girls. 

Third — To  help  teachers  in  making 
selections  for  the  schools. 

Fourth — To  encourage  the  ownership  of 
books  and  the  formation  of  a personal 
library. 

Fifth — To  cultivate  a taste  for  good 
literature. 

Sixth— To  keep  in  touch  with  the  great, 
active  busy  life  in  which  we  live. 


The  Bible — The  Best  Book 


4 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


Every  Student  from  the  elementary 
school  through  the  university  should  learn 
to  use  and  appreciate  books  and  libraries, 
not  only  that  he  may  study  to  advantage 
in  school,  but  also  that  he  may  continue 
through  adult  life  to  benefit  from  the 
resources  of  libraries. 


“0  for  a book  and  a shady  nook, 

Either  indoors  or  out ; 

With  the  green  leaves  whispering  overhead, 
Or  the  street  cries  all  about, 

Where  I may  read  all  at  my  ease, 

Both  of  the  new  and  old 
For  a jolly  good  book  whereon  to  look 
Is  better  to  me  than  gold.  ” 


The  first  time  I read  an  excellent  book, 
it  is  to  me  just  as  if  I had  found  a new 
friend;  when  I read  over  a book  I have 
perused  before,  it  resembles  the  meeting 
with  an  old  one. — Goldsmith. 


Boohs  Are  Living  Voices 


o 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


The  Ownership  of  Books 

Waitman  Barbe 

To  own  one  good  book  is  to  have  made 
a good  start  in  life;  to  own  ten  is  to  be 
on  the  fair  road  to  riches.  But  rightly 
to  own  a book  means  much  more  than  to 
be  able  to  say  that  it  is  your  property,  as 
you  might  say  of  a sled  or  of  a colt.  To 
own  a book  is  to  have  read  it  so  under- 
standingly  and  so  lovingly  that  what  it 
contains  becomes  yours  even  much  more 
truly  than  the  binding  and  the  paper  of 
which  it  is  made  are  yours.  Through  this 
kind  of  ownership  it  becomes  a part  of 
you.  Every  book  you  make  your  own  in 
this  way  adds  to  your  mental  and  moral 
stature. 

Such  possession  adds  also  to  the  happi- 
ness of  life,  for  there  is  no  joy  like  the 
joy  of  growth.  Every  book  rightly  read, 
and  thus  rightly  owned,  opens  to  the 
reader  a little  wider  the  doors  of  the  world, 
with  all  the  wonders  that  it  holds  and  all 
its  delights. 

Young  People  Should  Be  Encouraged  to 
Buy  Boohs 


6 


West  Virginia  Pupils*  Reading  Circle 


How  to  Get  Books 

Thos.  C.  Miller 

"Books!  books!!  books !!!”  was  the  cry 
of  the  schoolmaster  of  former  times  as  he 
stood  in  the  doorway  and  rapped  on  the 
side  of  the  schoolhonse  with  his  ample  rod. 
Today  the  cry  is  the  same,  but  with  a dif- 
ferent meaning  as  it  comes  from  the  boys 
and  girls  in  our  schools  who  want  books. 
They  have  learned  how  to  read,  now  they 
need  to  know  what  to  read.  To  this  end 
a library  should  be  formed  in  every 
schoolhouse,  and  all  our  youth  should  be 
encouraged  early  to  begin  collecting 
books  for  an  individual  or  private  library. 
Here  the  teacher  has  a great  opportunity 
and  she  should  rejoice  in  the  privilege  of 
directing  the  reading  of  her  pupils  as  in 
this  way  character  is  formed. 

A good  way  to  start  an  individual 
library  is  for  a pupil  to  keep  some  of  his 
best  text  books.  They  will  make  a good 
4 nest  egg”  and  bring  back  many  pleasant 
memories.  I have  two  such  old  books 
and  would  not  like  to  part  with  them. 


1 Books  a Year — 12  Books  in  3 Years 


7 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


Ask  Dr.  Barbe  what  he  will  take  for  his 
“old  black  book.” 

Most  boys  and  girls  have  a little  money 
of  their  own  from  time  to  time,  and  if 
properly  used  a book  may  be  purchased 
now  and  then.  Farm  boys  often  catch 
fur-bearing  animals  and  sell  the  skins ; 
girls  raise  chickens  and  sell  eggs,  and  in 
various  ways  a thrifty  boy  or  girl  will  find 
the  means  to  purchase  books  and  maga- 
zines. When  a small  boy,  Horace  Mann, 
the  great  educational  leader,  cut  up  corn 
four  days  to  pay  for  a book,  and  the 
writer  worked  hard  in  a brickyard  for 
three  days  to  get  money  to  buy  Franklin’s 
Autobiography  which  at  that  time,  during 
the  Civil  War,  cost  $1.78,  postage  and  all. 
But  he  never  made  a better  investment. 
Books  are  much  cheaper  now  and  the  two 
official  schoolbook  agencies  in  this  State 
will  supply  books  at  prices  lower  than  the 
publishers  give  at  retail.  These  agencies 
are  the  James  & Law  Company  at  Clarks- 
burg and  the  S.  Spencer  Moore  Company 
at  Charleston. 


The  Reading  Habit  Must  Be  Formed  in 
the  Elementary  School 


8 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


A book  is  a friend;  a book  is  a good 
friend.  It  will  talk  to  yon  when  you 
want  it  to  talk,  and  it  will  keep  still  when 
you  want  it  to  keep  still — and  there  are 
not  many  friends  who  know  enough  to 
do  that.  A library  is  a collection  of 
friends. — Lyman  Abbott. 


Except  a living  man,  there  is  nothing 
more  wonderful  than  a book.  A message 
to  us  from  the  dead,  from  human  souls 
whom  we  never  saw,  who  lived  perhaps 
thousands  of  miles  away;  and  yet  these, 
on  those  little  sheets  of  paper,  speak  to  us, 
amuse  us,  vivify  us,  comfort  us,  open  their 
hearts  to  us  as  brothers. — Kingsley. 

i 


9 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


Why  I Read  Books 

Annie  P.  Cubbege 

There  was  once  a little  girl  who  lived  in 
a big,  big  house  with  many  rooms  and 
many  servants,  but  there  was  no  one  to 
really  love  her  and  no  one  to  play  with, 
so  she  wasn’t  very  happy.  But  one  day 
she  heard  the  servants  speak  of  a won- 
derful secret  garden  that  was  walled  up 
and  hidden,  and  no  one  could  go  in  it 
because  the  key  had  been  thrown  away. 
Oh,  how  she  wanted  to  see  in  that  garden ! 
And  then  one  day,  what  do  you  think, 
a robin  showed  her  the  key!  She  knew 
it  must  be  if  she  could  only  find  the  door. 
And  that  very  same  robin  showed  her  the 
door  in  the  wall,  and  covered  up  with  ivy 
and  roses,  and  she  went  into  the  secret 
garden,  and — . But  I really  mustn’t  tell 
you  any  more.  They  have  only  given  me 
a very  snmll  space  to  write  to  you  and  I’ll 
have  to  let  you  read  all  about  it  yourself 
in  the  book.  It’s  the  very  nicest  book 
called  “The  Secret  Garden,”  by  Frances 

Bead  to  Live,  Not  Live  to  Bead 


10 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


Hodgson  Burnett.  Don’t  you  just  want 
to  find  out  what  was  in  that  garden? 

Now  let  me  tell  you  that  there  is  a 
secret  garden  waiting  for  each  one  of  you ; 
a garden  full  of  wonderful  people  and 
things  and  you’re  going  to  be  shown  just 
where  this  garden  is  and  how  to  find  it. 
In  it  there  is  a great,  dark  winding  cave 
where  Tom  and  Becky  found  a treasure, 
and  there  is  a palace  in  a queer  land 
where  a little  lame  boy  was  the  king.  There 
is  a terrible  jungle  full  of  beasts  but  if 
you  were  with  Mougli,  the  little  man-cub, 
they  would  not  hurt  you  because  they  were 
his  friends  and  he  could  talk  their 
language. 

There  are  many  treasures  in  that  garden 
for  you  older  boys  and  girls,  also,  and 
many  lovely  friends  to  make  who  will 
stay  with  you  all  your  lives.  What  boy 
would  not  love  to  be  the  friend  of  Huck 
Finn  and  float  down  the  great  Mississippi 
River  on  a raft  with  him?  Who  would 


Intelligent  Reading — the  Basis  of  an 
Education 


11 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Heading  Circle 


not  like  to  have  the  Little  Shepherd  of 
Kingdom  Come  and  his  dog  Jack  for 
friends?  Would  not  you  girls  like  to 
know  Anne  of  Green  Gables  and  the  Girl 
of  the  Limberlost,  and  dear  little  Heidi  in 
the  Alps?  Then  there  is  the  thrilling 
chariot  race  when  Ben  Hur  drove  the 
beautiful  Arab  horses  to  victory ; and  there 
is  the  old  parrot  in  Treasure  Island,  who 
knew  all  about  the  buried  “Pieces  of 
Eight,  ” and  so  many  more  that  I cannot 
tell  you  about  all  of  them. 

But  there  is  a plan  by  which  yon  may 
have  all  these  for  your  own  friends  and  at 
the  same  time  earn  more  school  credits. 
Your  teacher  will  tell  you  about  it,  and  I 
hope  that  yon  will  write  to  me  soon  and 
tell  me  what  you  think  of  it.  I found  that 
secret  garden  when  I was  a very  little  girl 
and  the  friends  and  the  treasures  I found 
in  it  have  been  with  me  all  my  life.  I 
want  you  to  have  them,  also. 


The  Library — the  People’s  Continuation 
School,  Extension  Department 
and  University 


12 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


Preliminary  Report  of  West  Virginia 
Pupils'  Reading  Circle 

See  other  side  of  this  for  blank  upon 
which  to  make  report  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle, 
State  Department  of  Education,  Charles- 
ton— the  reading  begun  as  soon  as  the 
Circle  is  organized  and  well  started. 

Books  to  be  read  should  be  chosen  from 
list  found  in  this  bulletin. 


Boohs  Are  the  Legacies  That  a Great 
Genius  Leaves 


13 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


Preliminary  Report  of  the  West  Virginia 
Pupils’  Reading  Circle 

(To  Be  Sent  When  Circle  Is  Organized.) 

County 

, West  Virginia, 

, 19 

To , Secretary, 

Charleston,  West  Virginia. 

Dear : 

The  following  pupils  in 

School  have  begun  reading 

under  the  auspices  of  the  West  Virginia 
Pupils ’ Reading  Circle  : 

NAME  GRADE 


Remarks: 

Very  truly  yours, 


14 


, Teacher. 


West  Virginia  Pupils'  Reading  Circle 


Final  Report  of  Work  Done  in  the  West 
Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 

See  other  side  for  blank  upon  which  to 
make  final  report  of  the  reading  completed 
in  the  West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading 
Circle  with  recommendations  for  honors. 

This  report  to  be  sent  to  your  County 
Superintendent  with  reports  of  pupils  on 
books  read. 


Reading  Makes  Life  Fuller  and  Richer 


15 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


Final  Report  of  West  Virginia  Pupils’ 
Reading  Circle 


To 


Dear 


, West  Virginia, 

, 19 

, Co.  Supt. 

West  Virginia. 


I am  pleased  to  report  the  following  list 

of  names  of  pupils  in 

School  who  have  com- 
pleted the  work  indicated  and  are  entitled 
to  the  marks  of  distinction  indicated 
opposite  their  respective  names : 

NAME  HONORS 


16 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


Total  number  of  books  read. 

Remarks : 

Very  truly  yours, 


17 


, Teacher. 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


Sixth  Grade  Reading 

1.  Rab  and  His  Friends— Brown-Heath. 

2.  Little  Men— Alcott — Little  Brown  & Co. 

3'  Little  Women — Alcott — Little  Brown  & Co. 

4.  Tanglewood  Tales — Hawthorne 

5.  A Boy’s  Town — W.  I).  Howells. 

6.  The  Man  Without  a Country — Hale — Ginn. 

7.  Four  Great  Americans — Baldwin. 

8.  Black  Beauty— Sewell. 

9.  Indian  Hero  Tales — Cornyn— Little  Brown  & Co. 

10.  Alice’s  Adventures  in  Wonderland — Carroll — Ginn. 

11.  King  of  the  Golden  River — Ruskin — Ginn. 

12.  Hoosier  School  Boy— Eggleston. 

13.  Scouting'  for  Light  Horse  Harry — True — Little 
Brown  & Co. 

14.  Our  Winter  Birds — D.  Appleton  & Co. 

•15  Japanese  Fairy  Tales — Hearn— Boni  & Liveright. 
10.  Les  Miserable®- -Adapted  by  Lee — Boni  & Live- 
right. 


Seventh  Grade  Reading 

1.  Abraham  Lincoln  for  Boys  and  Girls — Moore- 
Mifflin. 

2.  Heroes  of  Aviation — Droggs — Little  Brown  & Co. 

3.  Biography  of  a Grizzly — Seton. 

4.  Rebecca  of  the  Sunny  Brook  Farm — Wiggin — 
Mifflin. 

5.  The  Story  of  My  Life — teller. 

0.  Heidi — Spyri — Ginn. 

7.  Hellenic  Tales— Youth's  Companion  Series — Ginn. 

18 


West  Virginia  Pupils'  Reading  Circle 


8.  The  Spy — Cooper— Ginn. 

9.  The  Bird  Book — Eckstrom— Heath. 

10.  A Group  of  Famous  Women — Horton— Heath. 

11.  Famous  Dogs  in  Fiction— McSpadden— Crowell. 

12.  The  Light  Bringers — Wade — Little  Brown  & Co. 

13.  Boyhood  of  Abraham  Lincoln — Gore — Merrill. 

14.  Camping  for  Boys — Gilse. 

15.  Swiss  Family  Robinson— Wyss — Ginn. 

16.  Boy’s  Life  of  Theodore  Roosevelt — Hagedorn— 
Harper. 

1 7.  Tom  Sawyer — Mark  Twain — Harper. 

18.  Rick  and  Ruddy — Garic — Milton  Bradley  Co. 

Eighth  Grade  Reading 

1.  Rick  and  Ruddy  Afloat — Garic— Milton  Bradley 
Co. 

2.  Pilgrims  of  Today— Wade — Little  Brown  & Co. 

3.  Robinson  Crusoe — Defoe — Heath. 

4.  The  Story  of  a Thousand  Year  Pine — Mills — 
Mifflin. 

5.  Treasure  Island — Stevenson — Ginn. 

6.  The  Story  of  the  Other  Wise  Man— Van  Dyke. 

7.  Ramona — Jackson — Little  Brown  & Co. 

8.  From  Trail  to  Railway  Through  the  Appalachians 
— B rig  gham— Ginn. 

9 Some  Successful  Americans — Williams— Ginn. 

10.  Bird  Book  for  Children — Burgess — Little  Brown 
& Co. 

11.  Her  Father’s  Daughter — Porter. 

12.  Freckles— Porter. 

13.  Men  of  Iron — Pyle. 

14.  David  Copperfield — Dickens — Ginn. 

15.  Jungle  Book — Kipling. 

16.  John  Halifax,  Gentleman — Miss  Murdock. 

17.  Ancient  Man- — Van  Loon — Boni  & Liverigbt. 

19 


West  Virginia  Pupils  * Reading  Circle 


Honors — For  Pupils 

The  reading  of  four  books  as  a year’s 
work  will  entitle  the  pupil  to  a Diploma. 
For  each  subsequent  year’s  reading  a seal 
will  be  affixed  to  the  Diploma  already 
earned. 

Special  honor  seals  will  be  granted  if 
eight  books  are  read  in  any  list  in  a school 
year,  and  if  books  read  are  owned  by  the 
reader. 

Additional  credit  in  reading  should  be 
given  by  teachers  to  pupils  earning 
honors. 


For  Teachers 

A Certificate  for  the  school  which  enrolls 

100%. 

A Coupon  of  Credit  to  teachers  with 
100%  enrollment  of  6th,  7th  and  8th 
grades  who  finish  the  reading  in  any  one 
year,  provided  as  many  as  six  pupils  earn 
honors,  and  the  Reading  Circle  is  a County 
Project  under  B-5  Coupon  of  Credit 
Classification. 


20 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


Number  of  Circles  for  School  Years 
1923-1924  and  1924-1925 


County 


1923-24  1924-25 

Circles  Circles 


Barbour 

Berkeley 

Boone 

Braxton 

Brooke  

Cabell 

Calhoun  __ 

Clay 

Doddridge 

Fayette 

Gilmer 

Grant 

Greenbrier 

Hampshire 

Hancock 

Hardy 

Harrison 

.Tackson  

Jefferson 
Kanawha  _ 

Lewis 

Lincoln  

Logan  

Marion 

Marshall  __ 

Mason 

Mercer 

Mineral 

Mingo 

Monongalia 

Monroe 

Morgan 

McDowell  - 
Nicholas  .... 

Ohio 

Pendleton  _ 
Pleasants  _ 
Pocahontas 

Preston  

Putnam 

Raleigh 

Randolph  _ 
Ritchie 

Roane 

Summers 


29 

15 

19 

29 

5 

4 

3 

8 

1 

3 

18 

17 

11 

2 

3 

9 

14 

33 

23 

41 

6 

18 

1 

6 

5 

16 

13 

31 

1 

6 

201 

35 

29 

99 

10 

85 

0 

11 

7 

16 

21 

16 

1 

3 

1 

5 

31 

34 

55 

'64 

16 

27 

22 

137 

16 

36 

o 

10 

42 

17 

2 

9 

4 

13 

4 

41 

2 

4 

5 

4 

2 

8 

18 

25 

17 

47 

5 

8 

13 

24 

2 

29 

32 

73 

91 

115 

1 

15 

3 

32 

21 


West  Virginia  Pupils’  Reading  Circle 


Taylor 

Tucker 

Tyler 

Upshur  _ 
Wayne  _ 
Webster  . 
Wetzel 

Wirt  

Wood 

Wyoming 


10 

10 

2 

6 

25 

16 

2 

29 

6 

1 

1 

6 

21 

54 

3 

4 

2 

24 

3 

23 

Total 


700  1,438 


Where  to  Get  the  Books 

The  following  firms  or  book  stores  have 
indicated  their  willingness  to  co-operate  in 
securing  the  books  prescribed  in  this  bulletin 
and  at  their  request  their  names  are  attached. 

James  & Law,  Clarksburg. 

S.  Spencer  Moore  Co.,  Charleston. 

Stewarts’  Inc.,  Huntington. 

Harry  P.  Neptune  Co.,  Fairmont. 

In  our  next  issue  of  the  Bulletin  we  will 
gladly  add  names  to  the  above  as  requested. 


22 


A Lib  rary  for  Every 
School 

“In  the  past  we  have  thought 
relatively  too  much  about  teaching 
people  how  to  read  and  not  enough 
about  getting  them  to  read  after 
they  learn  how. 

“To  develop  the  ‘reading  habit ’ 
in  each  pupil  should  be  one  of  the 
chief  aims  of  every  teacher.  Train 
any  child  so  he  likes  to  read,  so  he 
is  a real  book  lover,  and  he  will 
educate  himself  if  he  never  goes 
to  school  another  day.  Moreover, 
if  a school  has  a good  library  it 
should  aid  greatly  in  educating 
the  older  people  whose  school  days 
are  over,  but  whose  learning  days 
should  never  be  over.  The  saying 
of  Thomas  Carlyle,  ‘The  true 
university  of  these  days  is  a 
collection  of  books/  cannot  be  too 
often  repeated.’ ’ 


2 06 


920515 


